The proliferation of social media platforms is a double-edged sword for women. Since the introduction of social media platforms, women have been using them to not only express their identities but also to advocate for their rights. Social media has become a readily accessible platform for facilitating the harassment of women both online and offline, fueling a new type of violence aptly named Technology-facilitated Gender-Based Violence or TFGBV.
This piece aims to elucidate the concept of TFGBV and raise awareness about its prevalence, exploring its impact on women in Jordan and the Arab region. It aims to highlight the increasing risks posed by social media and generative AI[1] while emphasizing the need for stronger legal frameworks and societal action to protect women from online and offline harassment. By shedding light on this growing issue, the blog seeks to inspire conversations, advocacy, and reform to combat TFGBV and ensure safer digital spaces for women.
What is Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV)?
TFGBV according to UN-Women is “any act that is committed, assisted, aggravated or amplified by the use of information communication technologies or other digital tools which results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political or economic harm or other infringements of rights and freedoms[2]”.
What makes TFGBV different from other types of Gender-based violence is that it is extremely accessible, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic as more women and girls started using the internet for their work and studies. In 2020 alone, 40% of women who reported having faced online violence said that the violence translated into their lives offline, compared to the 15% who reported the same situation in earlier years[3].
Additionally, the rise of generative AI has made certain forms of violence that were harder to create, like deepfakes[4] and deepfake porn[5], easier to create, enhance, and access than ever before. “Previous iterations of generative AI required coding capabilities and engineering skills; now anyone with internet access is only limited by their imagination[6]”. For instance, generative AI has been used to harass female journalists by using their likenesses to put on compromising pictures and videos to legitimize and intensify hate campaigns against them[7]
One of the most infamous cases that illustrate the gravity of TFGBV is the case where a 17-year-old girl in Egypt was threatened and extorted by men who used deepfake technology to alter her personal photographs. The photos were accessed through a link sent by a colleague she had refused to date, leading to the creation of fake compromising images and ultimately her suicide[8].
In this case alone, there are layers upon layers of issues to unpack, first, the idea that the abusers’ first instinct was to fake the victim’s image in a compromising manner is telling that TFGBV is deeply entrenched within the societal stigma surrounding women and their presence in the public sphere. Secondly, the victim’s inability to talk about the incident, or report it to the authorities, indicates a lack of awareness in dealing with such issues. Thirdly, the whole case is evidence that TFGBV is not a phenomenon separated from “real world” violence, in fact, it stems from, in fact, it could even be the spark that ignites violence outside the digital realm.
Contextualizing TFGBV: Online Violence in Jordan
Internet usage in Jordan has surged over the past decade, rising by 118.72%[9]. While this rise has provided many opportunities for men and women alike, it has opened a new and more accessible platform for harassment. According to the Jordanian National Committee for Women (JNCW), electronic violence is considered the third most common form of violence after physical and psychological as 63.1% of the participants confirmed having faced online violence at least once in their lives[10]. Moreover, Jordan ranked second across the Middle East in 2020 for the proportion of women survivors who reported experiencing online violence[11].
Over the past four years, Jordanian courts have handled 16,760 cyber-related cases involving 20,259 individuals, with 13,108 cases directly violating the Cybercrimes Law. Defamation, slander, and insult cases topped the list with 11,926 cases, followed by 1,424 cases of electronic threats[12]. This year alone, 698 cases of electronic blackmail and 1,153 cases of electronic financial fraud were recorded[13]. Notably, according to Mahmoud Al-Maghayreh, Director of the Cybercrime Unit, women are the primary victims of blackmail, often targeted through trust-based schemes involving private photos or videos[14].
These numbers are particularly alarming coupled with the fact that many women rely on the internet and social media in particular to make a living and the fact that 28% of women who experienced online violence decided to reduce their presence on the Internet[15]. A study by ARDD[16] on women-owned home-based businesses revealed that women find social media invaluable for marketing and enhancing their business reputation. They emphasized using platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook to reach broader segments of Jordanian society, overcoming the limitations of geographical boundaries. However, Solidarity is Global Institute (SIGI)[17] highlighted that these same apps are also the most frequently used for harassing women.
Challenges in Combating TFGBV in Jordan
Research on TFGBV, which is fairly recent, highlights persistent barriers preventing women from reporting online abuse. According to JOSA[18], societal stigma around visiting police stations discourages women from seeking help, while Siren Associates[19] notes that men are more likely to report crimes and less inclined to support women in doing so.
Additionally, many women lack awareness about how to report online crimes, fearing public scandal or exposure. Uncertainty about where and how to report further limits access to justice. This hesitation complicates the efforts of the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department, which operates with strict confidentiality and provides protection for complainants. The unit prioritizes the well-being of reporters, especially women, by offering electronic protection measures such as deleting harmful data, recovering accounts, and preventing further harm before referring perpetrators to the judiciary.
To address these challenges, the 2023 revision of the Jordanian Cybersecurity Law introduced 41 articles targeting online violence, exploitation, and harassment. The law complements the Penal Code, which applies in cases not explicitly covered by the specialized framework. Notably, in 2020, Jordanian courts set a legal precedent by convicting an offender of "indecent assault from a distance" using the internet, demonstrating how the legal system is adapting to emerging forms of digital violence[20].
Conclusion
The Internet is an extremely powerful tool that can help countless women access opportunities they otherwise cannot, this is why combating TFGBV is extremely vital to ensure that women are not only free to access the Internet but also feel safe and secure and be able to express themselves freely without the fear of being harassed or stalked.
ARDD is currently working on assessing the impact of TFGBV on women and girls by getting first-hand testimonies from experts and activists to ensure that the conversation about this type of violence is localized within the Jordanian context, given that we cannot separate online violence from real-world notions of gender-based violence.
[1] Generative AI is a technology that comes up with (i.e., generates) content in response to questions (or prompts) provided by the user. It produces “new” content by analyzing and learning from the large amounts of data that it ingests, which often includes large swathes of the internet. Source: UNESCO
[2] UN Women, “FAQs: Trolling, Stalking, Doxing and Other Forms of Violence against Women in the Digital Age,” UN Women – Headquarters, June 28, 2024, https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/faqs-trolling-stalking-doxing-and-other-forms-of-violence-against-women-in-the-digital-age.
[3] UN Women, “Violence against Women in the Online Space: Insights from a Multi-Country Study in the Arab States,” 2021, https://www.unfpa.org/TFGBV.
[4] Using artificial intelligence to manufacture images, audio, and videos to look real. Source: JOSA TFGBV Glossary
[5] Deepfake porn is a form of pornography in which a person's face is digitally superimposed onto someone else's body in an explicit scene. Source: JOSA TFGBV Glossary
[6] UNESCO, “Exposing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in an Era of Generative AI,” World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development Series (UNESCO, 2023), https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000387483/PDF/387483eng.pdf.multi.
[7] إبراهيم المبيضين, “ما هو ‘الديب فيك’.. وكيف نتعامل مع محتواه؟,” الغد, 2024, sec. اقتصاد, https://shorturl.at/PbEJH.
[8] BBC, “Two Arrested in Egypt after Teenage Girl’s Suicide Sparks Outrage,” January 4, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59868721.
[9] According to a survey conducted by the Department of Statistics titled “Information Technology Use at Home” in 2013 only 41.4% of the population used the internet, this number increased in 2022 to reach 90.55%.
[10] اللجنة الوطنية لشؤون المرأة, “العنف ضد النساء في المجالين العام والسياسي في الأردن,” 2022, https://shorturl.at/QNhYE.
[11] UN Women, “Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence.”
[12] المملكة, “أكثر من 20 ألف شخص ارتكبوا جرائم إلكترونية في الأردن خلال 4 سنوات ماضية,” قناة المملكة, 2023, https://www.almamlakatv.com//news/111294.
[13] المملكة, “698 قضية ابتزاز إلكتروني قدمت لوحدة الجرائم الإلكترونية منذ بداية العام,” قناة المملكة, 2022, https://www.almamlakatv.com//news/100608.
[14] المملكة.
[15] SIGI, “Cybercrimes Has Forced Many Women to Deliberately Reduce Their Online Appearance,” 2019, https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2019-01/SIGI_Cybercrimes.pdf.
[16] ARDD, “Women’s Informal Employment in Jordan: Challenges Facing Home-Based Businesses During Covid-19,” Women’s Advocacy Issues (ARDD, 2021), https://shorturl.at/tsrun.
[17] SIGI, “Cybercrimes Has Forced Many Women to Deliberately Reduce Their Online Appearance.”
[18] جوسا, “العنف الرقمي ضد النساء في الأردن,” 2022, https://www.josa.ngo/ar/publications/47.
[19] Siren Associates, “Siren Associates Annual Report,” 2021, https://sirenassociates.com/docs/Siren-Annual-Report-FY20-21.pdf.
[20] موفق كمال، “‘اجتهاد قضائي’: الحبس لهتك العرض ‘عن بعد,’” الغد, 2020.
